A smile makeover is a complete transformation of your smile using one or more cosmetic and restorative dental treatments. Many patients who pursue smile makeovers have been unhappy with their teeth for years or even decades, but when they come to our office for a consultation, they don’t know where to start. Should they get their teeth whitened? Or straighten them first? Is it better to just get veneers?
When you choose Sachi & Co. for your smile makeover, we’ll work together with you to plan your treatment based on your unique dental needs and goals. Here are three considerations we take into account when putting together a smile makeover plan.
Your Overall Oral Health
Significant cosmetic issues are often accompanied by oral health issues. If your teeth are small and worn down, it could be because your jaw is misaligned. Teeth that are stained and yellowed may also have decay due to poor brushing habits. While some smile makeovers focus only on the aesthetics of the smile, it’s common that dental health also needs to be addressed during the process.
There are some oral health issues that must be resolved before a smile makeover—if, for example, you have gum disease, we will treat the active infection first before we repair any damage to your gums and teeth. If you need Invisalign to straighten your teeth, that comes before we whiten them. Smile makeovers take a holistic approach because you can’t have a beautiful smile without healthy teeth and gums.
Your Smile Makeover Budget
While any restorative work you need as part of your smile makeover should be at least partially covered by your dental insurance, procedures that have no functional benefits, like teeth whitening and veneers, are not typically covered. We offer financing through CareCredit, but even so, we will always consider your budget when planning your smile makeover with you.
In many cases, we can offer you different options at different price points. Missing teeth may be replaced with a bridge or with dental implants; a bridge is less expensive, but dental implants last longer. Chipped teeth can be filled in with bonding or covered with veneers; bonding usually needs to be replaced after a few years, but veneers have a decades-long lifespan. You may decide to go with the more expensive option that has more durability, or a more affordable solution that better fits into your budget, but no matter what you decide, the decision is yours to make and we respect that.
Your Facial Features
Finally, we take your facial features into consideration and plan a smile makeover just for you—not anyone else! We want your smile to be in harmony with the rest of your face and giving you big, bright white teeth might not be the best way to achieve that. Our goal is for your smile makeover to look like your own natural teeth, only better.
Schedule a Smile Makeover Consultation
If you’d like to learn more about the smile makeover process, contact us today at 310-530-9893 to schedule an appointment for a consultation.